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Re: Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships

I don’t really have the time available to keep digging up articles & news stories especially with how much tonnage of things pop up when searching anything Trump/Russia related.

I will just say that Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election went well beyond just your a & b. There is tons of information out there about it. Much of it linked or mentioned here previously (although not all of it).

I kind of doubt Mueller’s report will convince you if the amount of available information hasn’t already done so but maybe it will. Either way I do appreciate the links & discussion. Far more than is available from the actual Trump supporters out there.

Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships

Seriously - if the ďurineĒ tapes are legit (and what a story to just throw out there if not), Iíd say Trump is in Putinís pocket.
Some seem to forget - Congress passed sanctions against Russia that Trump initially said he wouldnít impose; why? Because things were going so swimmingly with bilateral talks? Ukraine says hi.
Europe wants Russian oil and gas; they are even now (some of them) moving towards renewable energy much faster than the US, and I donít think thatís a coincidence.
Some people either canít or wonít see the forest for the trees - but hereís to hoping that RM clear cuts it so there wonít be any room for doubt (from my fingers to Godís ears).

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The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Re: Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships

I do not know if this warrants a new thread, so I'll post it here.
There is talk on Telegram (social media) threads by unofficial Kremlin spokemen (men known for releasing Kremlin "trial balloons" before an official announcement in the Russian media) about an Anschluss of Belarus.

Belarus is about as similar to Russia as Ukraine, maybe more so, but, for some esoteric reasons, the Soviets created a separate Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War. When the USSR broke up, Belarus found itself independent for the first time in its history. In 1994, Alexander Lukashenko rose to power through means fair and foul, and has been "re-elected" several times since. He is called "Europe's last dictator." He plays Russia against the EU, trying mostly to remain independent of both.
In 1996, Russia formed a "Union State" with Belarus, a union without much substantive meaning, because Lukashenko immediately started to undermine it by refusing to give the union any real power, but they do cooperat6e on air defense. Russia has been pressuring Belarus to allow Russian air force planes to base in Belarus, but Lukashenko, seeing what having Russia troops on your territory has done to undermine the independence of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, has refused to allow it.
Domestically, Putin is on the second of a maximum of two consecutive terms. Something must be done to either (a) change the Russian constitution (which would be a too-obvious power grab) or (b) find Putin some job that would give him some power (but not the presidency of the Russian Federation): President of the yet-to-be-created GosSoviet (State Council). President of the Union State would also fit that bill, so revitalizing the Union State (and then creating a presidency for the Union State) is in Putin's personal political interests. The problem is getting Lukashenko to accept the annexation of his country and his personal loss of independence. Maybe he'll have "an unfortunate accident?"